I brought black cats some luck

Keane will welcome Sir Alex Ferguson and his former team-mates to a sold-out Stadium of Light today, claiming that Sunderland is now in his blood.

He has moved his family from Cheshire to the North-East and even convinced his five kids to become Black Cats fans.

And the Irishman revealed that, while Old Trafford will forever have a place in his heart, he has fallen for Sunderland in a big way.

Now he faces the toughest task of all – ­trying to make the same kind of ­impression on Wearside as he did in 12 ­glorious years with United.

“This feels like my turf,” declared arguably the most popular player of the Ferguson era.

“You want to protect it and look after it. I probably don’t yet feel as if I have taken ownership of it even.

“As a manager you want to leave your mark on the club and I’m certainly not anywhere near doing that yet.

“Last year was good but the question will always be asked of you: ‘That’s OK but you’re with the big boys now.’ You want to leave your imprint on the Premier League.”

Keane, whose side are back in the ­relegation zone after Saturday’s ­controversial defeat at Reading, added: “Only time will tell whether I will be ­identified with Sunderland in the same way as I am with United.

“When you’re at a club for 12-and-a-half years, you’ll be remembered for that.

“Nottingham Forest fans will remember my time there and it’s the same with Ireland.

“I just hope that the day I leave Sunderland, the club will be in a better place than when I got here, whether it’s three years or 20 years down the line.”

Almost the full League table separates Keane’s current team from the one he led with such distinction, but he has already scored one minor victory over United.

“My kids will be wanting Sunderland to win,” he said. “They want dad to do well – and they want their dad to be happy!”

Seven top-flight bosses have already lost their jobs this season and Keane is almost unique among those sides fighting for survival in that he still has the ­unanimous backing of the fans.

And the people of Sunderland have a big supporter in Keane, too.

He explained: “I’m learning about this place all the time from speaking to punters.

“Put it this way, I like the people. Everywhere I go around here they seem to be very knowledgeable, very nice.

“I get the impression they like dogs! They’re genuine working-class people and that’s the kind of person I am.”

Keane likes them so much in fact, he even claims some of them could do his job.

“You have people who watch training all the time, elderly folk who live in the area. You speak to them.

“They give their opinions about teams and a lot of it is spot on. A lot of them could manage the team.

“The other day a gentleman was talking about a certain player we need and I couldn’t agree more with what he said. Mind you, I didn’t tell him that!

“These fans have been absolutely brilliant. They have seen us struggle but they also see what we’re trying to do. “Please God, I’ll be the man to provide them with some good times ahead.”

Keane was recognised as a born winner – but this season he has had to learn about losing as third-bottom Sunderland have found the going tough at the higher level.

The Irishman swears he will never get used to getting beaten but says every defeat is another motivational tool.

“Even though I've been at the top of the league with United, it doesn’t hurt my pride,” he added.

“You do have to change your mindset and get your head around it.

“As a player at United, I moved on from success very quickly but the defeats were always the ones that kept you going.

“I don’t look back and think of the wins. I haven’t got a clue when I won what.

“But I do know when I got relegated with Forest, I do know when I lost cup finals, I do know when I lost league titles and when I lost to Clyde in the cup.